Alice: Facing the Future
by happilyeverafter18
Summary: This is Alice and Jasper's story. How Alice finds Jasper and then how they find the Cullens together.
1. Chapter 1

**Alice: Facing the Future**

by _Happilyeverafter18_

Chapter 1:

_I can feel myself sitting upon some sort of chair, but I do not look down. I hear the sounds of glasses clinking together and people talking, many in disgruntled drunken rants. I see a door open, the light fills the room. It blinds, but I can see slightly through it. I see a tall and pale figure. I see perfect blonde locks and pale skin baring scars from who knows what. I am most held by crimson irises surrounding the darkest flash of black, but it is not the strange color that holds me but the warm sense of security I feel that comes with the piercing gaze. Before I can really see the person in the doorway, the light encloses around me with a roar that blurs out all the sound. I feel no chair supporting me anymore, and I float._

I open my eyes, and I am surrounded by blackness. I lay on a cold black street in a dark alleyway. There is no one around, and the city noises of cars and people sound out from around me. The alley seems to have no draw, and I wonder why I am here. I have no memory of why I am here. I just am, and you know what's funny? I have no memory of anything that's happened to me up to this point. It seems I have amnesia. Strange, right? _I need a name. What's my name? Oh, God, why can't I remember? _I search the recesses of my mind, but I remember nothing. No word. No syllable. No sounds. Nothing.

I decide to get up. I will not learn anything of myself if I just lie here. I brush off my clothing. I am wearing a striped blue and white night gown made of flannel. I run my hand through my hair. I move with the speed and grace of light or the silent touch of wind. My hair comes just barely to my chin in a bob. I pull a strand toward my eyes. My hair is black.

I look to my wrist, and a plastic I.D. Bracelet hangs along the slender bones. I twirl it until I see the manuscript. In a curling script says the name _Brandon, Mary Alice. _I wonder if the hand that wrote this was mine. I repeat my name out loud, "Mary. Mary Brandon." I frown; it sounds off. I repeat what seems to be my middle name over and over, "Alice. Alice Brandon. Alice." I am smiling through the words. I then realize that I _like _it that way. I say, "Hi! I'm Alice, Alice Brandon. Nice to meet you!" I curtsy in my horrible night gown. It is dirty, and I feel dislike for the dress in itself.

I glance down myself. I am short, I realize- maybe four feet and five inches tall. My skin is very pale, almost sickly. I do not ache or feel queasy like a sick person usually feels, but my throat burns. It feels like I ate a couple matches before I went to sleep in this dark alley. Maybe I was suicidal… or insane. The burn still holds steady, and I yearn for milk, soup, water, or anything just to quell the thirst. When I start walking, I am caught by the fluid speed with which I move. It is captivating. Then my bare foot slaps into a puddle, but I feel an aversion to it as if I was looking at grass or dirt, not thirst quenching water.

Then I smell a scent so amazing that I have to stop. I inhale the scent, and my throat burns for it. This is what I am to look for. The scent is all around me. It lays thick in the air, and I am about to take a step towards whatever it is when my sight falls to blackness.

_A woman runs through the forest. She has pale skin and dark hair. It is cropped and shining like plastic as it sticks up in every which way. She wears a short denim skirt that cuts across her upper thigh and a flowery white blouse. A lone deer is grazing next to the river, and she runs toward them. She is a fast as me, and I realize that she is going so fast that I shouldn't be able to comprehend her every movement, her every step, but I do. She leaps at the now fleeing deer, and she knocks it to the ground. The woman blocks the animal's attempts at escaping, and she brings her face to its flailing neck. It seems as though she is kissing its neck tenderly, but I see the flash of white teeth and the flow of deep red blood. The deer's movements become slow and labored, and then they finally stop in one final convulsion. She seems to be sucking the creature's blood, like a spider to a fly. She gets up and races to the sides of nine people. They all look alike, and yet they don't. Their features are all perfect and white, their eyes contrasting the crimson ones I'd seen earlier with warm butterscotch. They range from hair colors blonde to redhead, ages seven to thirty. One person looks Indian, but he stands in the back. The woman turns around. I gasp._

_I am looking at myself. My other self smiles broadly at the group, seeming to radiate happiness. I seem to belong here. A man with blonde hair and a wiry body takes the other me into his arms. He murmurs in a voice that I know I shouldn't be able to hear, "Happy New Year, Alice. 2009 is going to be great." Other me grins and laughs, "Well, of course it will be, Jasper!" He kisses other me softly on the cheek, and I feel myself watching with a growing jealously- of myself! I am happy, living the perfect life filled with love will do that to someone. Then the soft light from the moon engulfs me._

I am now back to standing in the dark alley. I am still burning, but resolved to the tempting scent. I hold my breath, and I realize that the breaths I'd been taking were not needed. I look to my trusty bracelet, and it says New York City Hospital 7/16/1922. In my… vision… I saw myself still living in 2009, looking the same and drinking blood. First of all, it seems that I am ummm… seeing… the uh…future. Secondly, it seems I have eternal youth, undeniably alien beauty, superhuman powers, and umm… a uh… thirst for _blood. _A word pops into my brain along with an image of a human, sucking blood. Then I realize, _I am burning for blood. I need blood. I'm a VAMPIRE._ In my vision, though, I was drinking animal blood. I know that vampires are supposed to drink human blood, but maybe I'm a different kind. Maybe I don't have to be a murderer and a vampire. Maybe I can just be a vampire.

I try testing out my superhuman powers, and when I jump, my feet reach as high as the tallest building tops. I laugh out loud; this feeling of flying is very exhilarating. I leap again toward the top of the nearest rooftop, and from there I spy a park. I think, _There. I'll find animals there. _And so as I leap the rooftops of New York City, I find myself _liking_ the fact that I am a vampire-not a murdering vampire. I don't miss my mortality-not at all. I mean, you can't miss something you can't even remember! In the back of my mind though, I am haunted by those crimson eyes and the man who was holding me in 2009. _Who are they? How will they affect my life?_ I guess these questions are just ones you have to deal with in being a psychic.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

_The sky was brightening as the sun came up, the dark sky dimming to a grayish periwinkle. I saw myself and a man. We were sitting side-by-side. I only could see the future me's back. His arm lay across my shoulders as I leaned into him, my head resting on his shoulder. His lips were kissing my forehead, and suddenly the rising sun was blinding. I was floating._

That was weird… It had only been a flash- a still picture, like a photograph. The man's hair was sun-bleached blonde. It was slightly wavy, and it shagged slightly over his collar. The skin I could see was pure white, and the wiry arm that propped him up against the sand was tense with twisting muscle. Again, I had looked happy. I can't wait for the future.

I shake off my reverie; I've forgotten where I am. The surrounding sky is an orangish black, being lit up by the lights of the city. I am on a rooftop, and a park lay before me. Right, I was hunting…

I begin climbing down. When I come to the first windowsill, I see a man and woman sleeping. The window is shut tightly. My throat burns, but it is not unbearable. I continue down and down and down. All of them are closed. I finally come to the last window, and it is pushed open. I am bombarded by a scent so burning, so mouthwatering, so clenching that I am thoughtless. I fling myself into the bedroom.

A small, defenseless little girl is tucked cosily under her covers. She sleeps peacefully. My throat burns unbearably, tauntingly. I leap on her, and before she can scream, I am biting her. Her flesh clips like butter, and I am in a warm stream. It feels good, and the taste fulfills every tastebud. I am in complete contentment as I drain her quickly.

A similar scent wafts through the wall. I start to take a step forward, but a thump of body on floor alarms me. Someone's in the room! I've been caught! An accusatory voice comes from the window, "You know, you drain the kid and dispose of her. We're not the official vampire street cleaners."

I swirl around in alarm. Two beautiful faces are there. The woman sits on the bed, legs crossed and staring at me intently. Her skin is pure white, and her hair is long and equally ivory. When I look to the window where the voice had come from just a second ago, her slender and tall body glides to the man who is hanging from the window sill. His muscles bulge, and he is glaring at me. She lays a hand on his huge shoulders possessively. His eyes are black and his hair is an eternal ebony. His pasty skin has a slight dark undertone. Exact opposites while still needing each other- night and day, black and white, new moon and full.

She pets his hair and whispers soothingly, "Shush now, William. Can't you see she's new?" At this, they both stare meaningfully into my eyes. I wonder if they are the red of my bar vision or the gold of my eventual future. "How long were you changed, Hon?" she asks me cautiously, like I am a land mine to tread carefully upon.

I stare at her and murmur in my high, sing-song voice, "I don't know. I can't remember. I just woke up in that alley," I gesture towards my death bed, "back there, and I was like this. My throat, it was burning. So badly. And then I was in a forest drinking the blood of animals, only there were two of me. Then I decided to go to the park, but as I was descending, there was this amazing smell. My throat burned, and I-" I stop and stare suddenly at the lifeless body. I am sickened by myself. What happened? I feel like I should be crying, but I'm not.

They are staring at me like I'm crazy. I probably am, seeing the future and being in hospital clothes. They exchange amused glances. She says, "Alright, Sweetie. This has been a long day for you, I know. Why don't we just get rid of her," she points to the dead girl, "and we'll get you all cleaned up. You need to know how it is. You're a-"

I interrupt her, "Vampire. I'm a vampire, and I'm supposed to drink animal blood. I know, I saw it. But why…" I trail off, why am I drinking from animals in the future if it's not what satisfies the burn? I mean, not killing is always good, but all other vampires eat humans…

The woman shakes her head in wonder, "Well, anyways. I'm Lucinda, but you can call me Lucy. This is William." William said gruffly, "Will. I'm Will." Lucinda rolls her eys and continues, "And you are?"

I smile and extend my hand. "Alice, Alice Brandon. Nice to meet you." We shake and jump out the window, the girl's dead body in my arms. _I'm sorry, Little Girl, but I'm finally getting answers!_

**&**

We burn the girl's body and dump the ashes into the Hudson River. As we run along, Lucinda explains about our effect on humans and their effect on his. When I ask her about seeing the future, she just shakes her head and says, "You're special. I can't do anything, neither can William, but we have met others who can... do more. Yours is a unique gift."

We brake into a couple stores. She and I steal many beautiful things. I come out wearing an white eyelet sundress with magenta pink embroidery. It is gorgeous, especially with my new sparkly shoes. I tell Lucy about my vision of the golden-eyed family. She nods and replies, "I've only met one. He was just passing through, but I did get a chance to see him hunt. Try the park, especially the horse stables and petting zoo." She describes him with "hair the color of the sun" and a compassion that "glowed brightly from his buttery eyes." I listen to this, and the man seems familiar, but I can't seem to pinpoint it.

I thank her, and that's how the night continues- she answering my questions and me answering questions I know the answers to. We talk and laugh all through the night. By dawn, William even joins in half-heartedly. The sun comes up to the three of us, sitting on the bank of the Hudson River under the cover of trees chatting like we've known each other forever.

**&**

Lucy, Will, and I became good friends after that. I cheated the stock market and stayed away from humans during the day (even after I'd developed more self control did I stay away. I knew I wouldn't hurt them normally, but if they got too close I shudder to think of what would happen, so I didn't take the unnecessary risk.). I hunted in the night- only park animals, thank you very much, but I did indulge on holidays. A hobo here, a subway entertainer there. I enjoyed my new life very much.

My future seeing came in handy. I made a fortune, and I became more practiced. I excelled in the future scavenger hunts Lucy would set for me. She's tell me to find the winner of the next lottery ticket, the day of the apocalypse, the day I'd fall in love. The last one I could never find, though I tried. When I searched for that, I only got my past visions and flashes I couldn't make sense of.

Seventeen years later, in a particularly competitive game of scavenger hunt (if I won, Lucy'd have to eat my next catch, but if she won, I'd have to open a future-telling booth on the streets of the Bronx), I actually found something, something new. It was my bar vision, but I caught sight of a bar tender. He had brown hair and a long scraggily beard. He smelled of cigarettes. His name tag flashed past me. It read SAM CARNEGY.

What I longed for in the vision I do not know. Maybe it was the fact that I felt fine in a room full of drunk males who would welcome any chance of going into a separate dark room alone with a beautiful and mysterious woman. Maybe it was because I actually had a sense of purpose. For the about two decades I'd lived my new life with no pull to the future, no ambition. I was just floating in a sea of undiluted serenity. Maybe it was the lure of the unnamed figure, the draw of a puzzle unsolved. I didn't know, but what I did know was that I was going to find that bar, the one who was going to employ Sam Carnegy somewhere in the future.

And so the search begins…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"Hello? Yes? I'm looking for someone."

The little voice says gruffly, "Who?"

I hate this part. Always have. Always will- this not knowing. This blind searching. Some days I just want to give up, but then I'll see some buisiness card or some sign and I give it one more shot. I promise myself this will be the last time. I won't do anymore searching after this. Maybe it's just fate that I don't find him. Maybe it was someone else's future. I clear my throat and say, "I'm looking for a Sam Carnegy? He tends bar during happy hour."

The man on the other side of the phone laughs, "Ah, Sam. What the boy do now, Miss? We really can't be accountable for the actions of our bar tenders."

I laugh. I laugh and I just can't stop. After endless months of searching, I've finally found this Sam. Finally, I've found the future. I say breathlessly, "Thank you. Thank you so much!" I'm grinning ear to ear when I turn to Lucy and Will. I say to them, "They have him. Sam is there. The Bayside Bar has him!"

Lucy comes up to me and hugs me. She smiles at me, "I'm so glad you've found him." Will comes up and pats me on the shoulder. Lucy glares at him; she's always been very possessive, especially if he tries to touch me. I'm not sure what's wrong with her these days. She's been acting strange-very shifty.

I smile and plunge into the cushions of the couch, "It's finally coming true. It's finally happening!" We've been living in the abandoned warehouse over on Jersey shore. It was old and dusty when we got here, but now it's home.

Lucy sits beside me, crossing her legs. She's always very prim and proper. Her slight accent billows (she's slightly Transylvanian, very cliché, I know) as she asks me simply, "Now what?"

I sit up, dismayed. I'm shocked that I've even found him. I've doubted it so much that I haven't even thought about the next step. How do I stay there but not seem suspicious. How can I be there everyday? Realization dawns on me and I say with certainty, "I get a job." She gasps at me in wonder. We always try to avoid humans. Actually trying to fit in? It is almost automatic give away. I say with a steely conviction that surprises me, "I can do this, Lucinda. I know I can. I HAVE to. I need to do this." She shrugs, seeing no point in arguing with me.

The next day, I drive over to Bayside Bar. I've researched this, and I believe the dress I'm wearing suits the job. It cuts across the middle of my thigh, and it accentuates the slight curves of my body, revealing enough to keep drunk guy talking (and looking). I get out of my Cadillac and walk up to the double doors, head held high. I go straight to the manager's office. The man sitting there has black hair and piercing black eyes. He is shrewd and mean-looking. It intimidates me, but I shake it off saying in a commanding voice, "I'm here for a job."

He nods and stares at me, but not at my eyes. I know what he's looking at. Crossing my arms, obstructing his view of me, I say, "Hello?"

He clears his throat as he stares at my face, awestruck. This gets tiring sometimes- the human male gender's inability to speak normally with me. He finally says, "Yes, um, well, uh, we ARE hiring a position for someone of YOUR standing."

I nod and say, "Yes? What is it?"

His eyes widen at my annoyed tone and he says, "It, uh, comes with a, um, uniform." He then opens a drawer and pulls out a skimpy dress with way less fabric than the one I'm wearing now. "We need a performing act. Someone to sing and dance."

I nod, eyes downcast. I know what he means and wonder, "What have I gotten myself into?" I say aloud, "I'll do it."

He hands me the outfit and says, "You can start tonight around eight. Come early and bring music." I nod and saunter out the door, black leather in hand.

That night, I stand in my dressing room in front of the mirror, looking at myself feeling very scummy. I say aloud to my reflection. "Get over it. It's the 40's, not the 1800's." But the knowledge that I'd have to perform tonight in front of a crowd of you-know-what hungry men set my head spinning. Why did Sam have to work HERE? Why were all the bar tending positions taken? I pulled my robe on, shivering.

I take a look at my music. I was going to sing "Somebody To Love" and sing a duet with the male dancer, Patrick. The song was called, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." This is all that'll sing tonight, and all that I can. I frown, disgusted with myself.

The night goes well, and I was a crowd favorite with my shimmying dance moves and twirls. I hear a knock on my door, and I pull my robe around me and announce, "Come in."

The manager comes swooping in grinning, "You were great. You are hired, Kid. Be here every night at eight o'clock. By the way, I'm Gary. And you are?" He appraises me, and I shiver under my robe. His gaze shakes me to the core.

I turn my back to him and say, "Mary. It's Mary." I can't stand to have my good name torn to bits in this place. I'll be Mary here and Alice everywhere else.

He escapes the room and throws over his shoulder, "Well, Mary. We're happy you're here. I have plans for you, Kid. You are going far."

I whisper, exhausted, "Good to know…" I then collapse into the chair.

The rest of the week was fine, as fine as a dirty dancer's job can be. I sang and I shimmied. I was whistled and hooted at. Patrick was nice, and we work well together. I wonder if I can change this around for me. I wonder if I can make this work…

Friday night, after the show, Gary comes to congratulate me on the performance. I swallow, getting up the nerve to ask my boss for something. I say in a tiny voice, "Um, Gary, Sir? I was, uh, wondering about the um, uniform."

He asks distractedly, "Yes? What about the uniform?"

"I was wondering if I could wear my own clothing to the show. You know, something I could be more comfortable dancing in? And Patrick and I were talking, and we were thinking that maybe we could just do duets from now on and you know? Like really dance, not you know, provoke certain arousals?"

Gary looked at me and his face softened for just a second. He cupped my face. He was probably forty or so. I could easily be his daughter, but I know he doesn't think of me in that sort of affection. "Mary, honey. You can try whatever you want. It just depends on how the audience likes it."

I jump up and hug him, purely out of complete exuberance. "Thank you so much! I won't let you down!" He seems taken aback, and suddenly my throat burst into flames and I'm on the other side of the room in an instance. I whisper, "Please. Get out. For your own good." He backs up, hands held in the air in a display of peace, and he runs out of the room, frightened for no reason he can consciously tell himself. I remember that I'm a vampire, and I give a deep sigh. I'll have to be more careful. Then I gasp as I am blinded.

_A tall vampire is looking at me, smiling slightly. I am at ease with him. His blonde hair and crimson eyes are familiar, only I can't pinpoint it._

_I smile at him and say smoothly, "Hello, Jasper. I'm happy to finally meet you. You've kept me waiting for a very long time, you know." His eyebrows shoot up, bewildered._

Then I am blinded again, and I fumble around me, my eyesight finally returning. I've seen him before. I wonder when I meet him. I shrug and go out my dressing room door. Just another question I frequently deal with.

The next week, during the day, Patrick and I spend the days practicing. Friday, we perform, and we are met by a chorus of "Boos." The men expect my usual sexy shimmying and acting with Patrick. I rush into my dressing room, and I want to cry, but I can't. What did I expect really? But I still hoped, and that's what did me in. I pick up my bag listlessly and go to the bar.

I plop down on a bar stool and lean my head on the table. Sam comes over. He's nice I guess, a little dumb and a womanizer, but he's okay. I say, "Get me a beer and keep it coming." I slap down a thirty dollar bill, figuring I'll stop by the time I reach thirty bucks worth of beer. He nods and a glass of bubbling gold is pushed toward me. Then I realize something. I can't drink. It doesn't appeal to me. This night will be etched in my mind forever and there is nothing I can do about it. Alcohol won't do a thing. I groan and close my eyes, hating myself.

Then the bell rings on the doors and I look up. The outside light from the floodlights blinds me for a second, but then I can see. I find crimson eyes underneath and a curtain of blonde hair staring at me, and I almost fall off my seat, which is really hard for a vampire to do, let alone me, a super graceful vampire. I gulp and my eyes widen, staring. Right in front of me is the guy who's been vision-stalking me- Jasper Whitlock, the hottest vampire I've ever seen.

I jump off my chair and smile brightly. Now I can't wait to remember tonight. "Hello, Jasper," I say, repeating what I said in my vision from memory. "I'm happy to finally meet you. You've kept me waiting for a very long time, you know." He looks at me, confused. I laugh effortlessly, enjoying the sensation of knowing everything would be fine.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

He just stares at me, stunned. His wavy blonde hair shines. He's wearing gray pants and a plaid button-up shirt. It's only buttoned up to the third to last button. I flick my gaze away quickly, hoping that he doesn't notice my quick intake of breath upon seeing him. He's still staring, and if I could blush, I would. He finally tips his hat and says, "Hello, M'am. May I ask one question?"

I nod, smiling at his slight southern accent and mannerisms. _Cute_ is one word that runs through my head. I shake the thought off and try to bring back my casual observation.

He asks, "Please don't take offense of my asking, but how do I know you?" I laugh and grab his hand, leading him back out the door he's just entered.

I chuckle and say in an ominous voice, "All will be revealed soon. Just follow me!" We silently walk down the bank of the Hudson River until we come to the tree where Lucy, Will, and I first really got to know each other. It was OUR tree, and soon Jasper and I'd be able to share a memory of this tree too. That is if he doesn't take off running the minute I mention "visions of the future."

We finally get there. I say in a rush, "Your name is Jasper. You're a vampire like me. I haven't met you before now, but we will end up being together a lot. I've known I would meet you since I woke up in this new life. Until last year, I haven't even known where I'd meet you. Then I, I um… I kind of _knew_ after seventeen years that I'd meet you at this bar with a bar tender named Sam Carnegy, so I finally found him last week on Monday. Then I got a job, and you're here."

He backed up, eyes wide and hands held up like I was some land mine to carefully tread upon. He stammered, "Listen, Lady, I-I just met you. I don't know _how_ you know who I am or _why_ you're so familiar with me, but I just came there because I needed a good hunt. So, I guess, um, nice knowing you, but I'm leav-" I clutch his arm, desperation taking hold of me.

"Wait! Just um, please! You have to listen to me! I've seen you, okay?" I gasp, grief of my almost loss making my usually high voice into a shrill pleading tone.

He collapses to the ground, conceding to my effort to retain him. "Fine," he grumbles in an exhausted tone, "but you can at least tell me your name."

I shrug, "It's Alice." I'm preoccupied by his simple skipping over the part of my _seeing_ him. "Wait, I said that I've _seen_ you. Don't you understand? Why aren't you freaking out?!"

"You saw me. That isn't exactly a miracle, you know. It's one of the five senses; that is unless you're blind. You're not blind; are you?" He asks, smirking.

I roll my eyes, annoyed at him missing this simple concept. I can feel my anger pulsating through me, and I have the urge to slap him across the face. _Southern gentleman, my ass_, I think, seething. I leap up into the tree and swing on the branch, feeling I need an outlet for my anger. I finally ask, anger still ringing through my voice, "I haven't met you before! Weren't you listening! I've _seen _you!"

He shakes his head at me and inquires, trying to be polite, "Alice, please, won't you come down so we can talk like two civilized vampires?" I can feel myself growing angrier at his condescending tone, but then everything starts to feel fine again. I wonder briefly what causes my sudden change in mood, but then I shake it off as I fall back to the bank of the river.

I say slowly, "I can _see_ more than most people. Call it a sixth sense if you will. It's not like I see different colors or farther or whatever. I-I can see the future." I feel embarrassment as I watch his face. To my shock he takes it coolly and calmly, unlike my anticipated accusation of insanity and pointing and laughing.

He goes, "So you do more than most people. So can I. But if you see the future, how can you be so sure that you saw _me _and _my _future? How can you be sure that was me?"

I explain, "It isn't like I'm staring through the Hudson or anything. It's like watching a colored photograph or film. It's like I'm actually there, watching and listening in that room. Your voice, your face, your clothes- they're all the same. If I'm wrong, how can I explain my ability to see stock market trends and what I'll wear tomorrow?"

He smiles, "Tell me what I'll wear tomorrow. I'll meet you here again, and if you're right then I'll believe that it's me you're seeing."

I shake my head, perplexed, "No, my visions all depend upon the choices of others. They're subjective. Usually, the normal every day things aren't set in stone. However, destinies, those are pretty hard to change. Things that don't depend on choices are most reliable, like the weather."

He nods, understanding what I mean. He's smart. He says nonchalantly like he's asking me to walk or open a door or whatever, "Then tell me the weather tomorrow."

I nod and say, "Come by the empty warehouse tomorrow when you believe that my visions are accurate. It's right on Jersey shore. You can't miss it."

I clear my head. I close my eyes and let go of the present. I float in the dark abyss of my blank thoughts. Then I point all of my head, all my focus into one word: _weather._ _Then I am blinded and come to see a picture of the sky. The sun shines brightly in the sky, but some clouds lay not far behind. They seem stormy. The sky looks like early morning. I assume that it'll be sunny in the morning but will turn to light showers sometime around midday._

I come back to the present, not sure how long I've been gone. It might've been a minute. It might've been ten. I open my eyes and gaze upon him, the after-calm of my prevision meditation still in affect. Jasper's staring at me in wonder, and I haven't even done anything. I say to his shocked face, "It'll be sunny in the morning, but it'll rain sometime around noon."

He doesn't even seem to register the information. Finally he says in a less than present voice, "How-how did you do that?"

I shrug. "See the future? I don't really know. I just woke up and I could do it. Hey, earlier. You said you had a sixth sense. What can you do?"

He stammers, ignoring my question, "How did you clear yourself like that? I couldn't feel anything. I could feel nothing coming from you. How did you stop your emotions? How did you DO that?"

I stare at him, slightly wary of his strange dialogue, "You, you FELT me? You felt my emotions? You're a… oh my God. You're a manipulator! No wonder you… oh my God." I got up and started pacing. A manipulator is a class of our talents. It means one who can feel and work your emotions like Chelsea in the Volturi. No wonder I've been feeling so calm. Oh my God. He's been feeling me this WHOLE time! He knows I find him slightly uh… attractive. If my face could burn with a blush right now, it would be.

I pace back and forth. Finally he comes up and gets in front of me. He takes hold of my shoulders and gives me one firm shake. My body waves with the strength of his push. He stares at me, deep and long. I can feel myself becoming calm and thoughtful. I push him away and yell, "Stop DOING that!" I leap to the tree. In no time, I am staring down at him.

He follows me up into the tree. I yell at him, "Stay away from me. Don't do anything to me. Stay right there." He keeps advancing, and finally he rushes forward and clasps my hands together. He pins me against the trunk. He's much stronger than me. I know I'm small, but I like to think I pack a punch. Guess not…

He says quickly, "Alice, tell me how you did that. I'm not going to do anything to your emotions. If I could turn it off right now, I would, but I can't so I'll just concentrate on other things. Please tell me how you did that."

I shake my head and starts muttering at him, "Get off me you no-good-emotion-manipulating-stronger-than-me-bigger-than-me-mocking-Southern-" Suddenly he lets go of my hands and jumps down from the tree.

He stalks away, calling over his shoulder, "I'll be at the warehouse tomorrow afternoon. Be prepared to answer that question because I'm not giving up until I get that answer."

I stare at him in shock, mouth hanging open at his obvious cockiness, as his figure recedes into the bluish gray dusk of the night. I stay up in that tree all night, watching the lapping river and rising sun. In the morning I run off to the shores, excited for my meeting with the cocky manipulator that is Jasper.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

When Lucy calls out, "Alice! Jasper's here for you!" My heart pounds with anxious excitement. I take a deep breath, trying to radiate calm indifferent civility. I come out of the little office that is my room. I am dressed in buttery yellow dress that highlights my golden eyes. Its flowing feminine shape hints subtly of the hidden curves underneath the fabric. I wear flip-flops. A pink raincoat hangs over my shoulders.

When I come out to the main room, I see Jasper sitting stiffly on the edge of the couch cushion. His cocky mood from yesterday has been replaced by a shyness that wasn't there yesterday when I first met him. Weird…maybe he feels familiar with me as I am with him. I flash him a smile and ask happily, "You believe me now?" I can hear the pounding of the rain on the metallic roof. Obviously, he can hear it too.

He shrugs and gives up a bit of the shyness, focusing totally on me, "Yes, I believe you. Can we go now?" I nod and walk out the door. He follows me. I look back, and I can see his figure slowly unwinding. He pulls up next to me and says, smirking, "You know, you still haven't answered my question."

At the mention of his holding me prisoner, my chin defiantly raises up. I say, "I still haven't forgotten about yesterday. Don't think you're that easily forgiven."

He stops in front of me and stares at me. His gaze speeds up my breathing, and I feel my defiance collapsing against my will. I glare at him, "Stop doing that! I will _not_ be your little toy!"

His tiny playful half-smile turns into a full-on genuine smile. He laughs jubilantly, "I'm not doing anything Alice; this is all you."

I turn towards the lapping waves and exclaim, "It is not!" I am frowning as I watch the waves come in and out. I focus on that movement, trying to calm myself. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

His voice takes a sudden turn towards anger, "Stop being scared of me! Admit that this is you! Admit that I scare you not because of what I can do to you, but because of what you do to yourself when I'm around you! Admit it!"

My mouth hangs open as I stare at him in shock. This whole emotion-feeling-of-other-people thing is so sucking right now. I hate it, and then I think of my prevision meditation. That's what he wants to know. I change the subject, hoping to get away from this very sticky one, "Prevision meditation."

He stops dead in his tracks (we've started walking again). "What?"

I'm slightly annoyed at his inability to grasp that I'm finally giving him what he wants. I roll my eyes, "Prevision meditation is what I did the other day. I just sort of dropped away from everything-cleared my head and focused on the black of my mind. It's almost like I stop thinking all together. I don't think about what I am doing or what to do next; I just _am._"

He suddenly takes me in a strangling hug. It would've been bone crushing if I'd still been human. He murmurs into my hair, "_Thank you._ That was the first moment in my new life that I've just been all _alone_. It was perfect. Do you think you could do it again?" His eyes are hopeful as he pulls back to look at me. I can hardly resist, being caught up in his eyes like that. I nod silently.

I then focus on myself. It all drops away. I watch the floating blackness like I am blind. Then I hear his sigh of relief, and I'm back. I smile sheepishly at him, "Sorry. I'm not good at this even after eighteen or so years."

He bursts with an exuberant laugh. It is airy and light, like the weight of the world is off him. He literally looks refreshed. His eyes are brighter, seeming more alert to me, or maybe that's just me. I keep looking at his eyes, and I am drowning in those pools of scarlet. I take his hand and start running. He keeps up with me, and we are in the deserted forest not too far down the shore. He asks, curiosity screaming in his tone, "What are we doing, Alice?"

I laugh. "We're going hunting!"

He stares at me confused. He stops in one instant, and I find myself running two or three strides ahead of him before I stop too. I run back to him. He says with a question in his startling red eyes, "But, Alice, there are no humans around here for miles."

I laugh, shaking my head. He can be so slow at times. "We're not hunting humans, silly! I'm showing you how _I_ hunt."

"Then what are we hunting?" He asks, confused still.

"_I'm _hunting animals, but you can just watch if you like. Embrace your future, Jasper!"

He's silent at this, thinking. He says slowly as if he's trying to comprehend, "So what you're saying is that I'm going to hunt _animals?_ But vampires can't drink animal blood. Can they?"

I laugh, "Why do you think my eyes are such a different color?"

His eyebrows scrunch together in consternation, "But _why_?"

I shrug, "Why not? You get different color eyeballs. You don't kill anyone. _And_ you stand out. I saw my future self doing it, and she seemed pretty happy, so I decided I would mostly eat animals."

His face becomes one of mocking disbelief, "So you just do anything you see your future self does? Even if what your future self is doing is insane?"

I shake me head and jump up to the nearest tree, swinging from the branch and doing back flips. I laugh, "You've got to face the future at some point! Why not face the future," I flip off the branch and stick the landing, "in the present?"

I then bolt into the forest after a bear, leaving Jasper to ponder this new idea. Obviously, I've got a lot of work to do to get him ready to be _his_ future self. I shrug. Just gives me more time to be with him! I think happily as I hear him take off into the brush after me.


End file.
